Iron Powder and Spellcaster

"Hey, are you really here?" The fat captain's tone was very relaxed, but when he saw the unkind person coming, he had a wise look on his face: "Raise the flag, raise the naval flag."

The sailors climbed up to the main mast, and the blue and yellow pinstriped flag symbolizing the Republic of the Sea was removed and replaced with a striking red background diagonal cross flag fluttering in the wind.

This flag represents the Veneta Navy, with blue symbolizing Veneta and red symbolizing blood. The meaning of the flag is that the navy used blood to establish the Republic of Aquamarine.

But in fact, the real reason why red was used was that the designers of the flag believed that red was more conspicuous and could be recognized from a distance. The explanation of the blood came later, and eventually it became official.

The fat captain put his hands on his hips and boasted to the army landlubbers: "On the inland sea, pirates will give the navy a face no matter what. Seeing this flag, the villains with evil intentions will withdraw on their own."

The captain's commanding attitude infected the trainee officers. It seemed that he would not be able to see the pirates today, and Winters still felt a little regretful.

But then the development of things deviated from the Fat Captain's prediction. Winters watched as the other side's ship first exposed only its mast, then its sails, then its deck, and finally the entire ship appeared in his field of vision.

If he wasn't hallucinating, it was because the distance between the two ships was shortening.

The fat captain was still calm and calm: "I guess they are too far away to see the flag. Give them some time."

After "a little time", Winters could clearly see the other side's bare mast top - the other side didn't have any flags hanging. This means that the other party can also see the flag of the Skua clearly, and the visitor is not deterred by this naval flag.

"Lower all the sails and move forward with full sail." The fat captain became a little anxious now. The sailors obeyed the order and climbed up the sail yard along the locks, re-unrolled the tied canvas, and the Skua's mainmast and foremast were hung with square sails.

The sails on the three masts of the Skua were suddenly filled with wind, causing the people on the deck to stagger. No matter how dull the passenger was, they could feel that the ship was slowly accelerating. The trainee officers who did not know what was going on came out of the cabin and onto the deck one after another. Even Major General Layton and Major Moritz came out.

"It's okay. Their sails are small and they are not fast at full speed. The Skua will be able to get rid of them in a while." The fat captain said while wiping the sweat from his forehead. "

The bulging sails of the Skua suddenly began to become somewhat deflated. The sea is a fickle lover, and the power of the sea breeze is weakening.

"It doesn't matter if the wind is weak. The Skua just has more sails than they do. We are slower and they are slower." The fat captain made a confident judgment.

Before he finished speaking, under the gaze of everyone on the Skua, a pair of wings stretched out from the sides of the opponent's ship and began to beat the water.

It's an oar. The incoming ship is not only equipped with a sail but also an oar. The wind force decreased, but as the oars waved, the speed of the incoming ship increased instead of decreasing, and the distance between the two ships was accelerated and shortened.

In fact, the paddle-sail hybrid is the standard equipment in the Gulf of Senas in this era. Most of the ships sailing in this area are flat-bottomed square sails, which rely on sails when the wind is downwind, and are equipped with a set of oars for use against the wind.

A ship like the Skua, equipped with complex rigging and driven solely by wind power, is an anomaly on the inland sea. Although this type of sailboat, which has strong self-sustainability and requires fewer sailors to operate, represents the future, in terms of short-distance maneuverability in weak winds, it has to be hoisted up by the old-timers of the galley.

The distance between the two ships grew closer, so close that Winters could see ant-sized figures on the other ship climbing between the sails.

The man climbed to the top of the mast and raised a half-red and half-black flag on the flagpole.

"Whose flag is this?" Layton asked in a deep voice. He had already figured out the Skua's current situation.

"No one's flag." The fat captain said with a cry: "This flag means that if we don't stop the ship and surrender, we will all be killed without leaving a single person alive."

Suddenly a red light flashed at the bow of the incoming ship, and a puff of white smoke rose. "Boom!" A gunshot sounded, and a gray object flew from the bow of the opponent's ship to the back of the Skua's hull, causing a splash of water.

The sides of the galley were left to the oarsmen, so the main artillery was placed at the bow. This shot was obviously a demonstration against the Skua.

"The pirates just want the property. If they can't leave, just give them the stuff in the cargo hold." One of the travelers on the Skua spoke up. They were obviously unwilling to risk their lives for the benefit of the shipowner. , anyway, robbing things is not robbing them.

"Here, give it to them, it's okay if they only want the goods." The fat captain's legs were weak and he could hardly stand: "I'm afraid they still want the ship! The most valuable thing on the sea is not the goods, it's the ship!"

"Give him a hammer! Don't even give him a handful of dirt!" The thunderous voice frightened the fat captain to sit on the ground. Major General Leighton was furious. He glared with a pair of red eyes and shouted angrily: "You will give it to me if I rob you." ? What the hell! If this news comes out, where will I put my face?! Where will the navy army's face be put?!"

With no hope of escape, the fat captain had already planned to surrender. The future of losing both ship and cargo made him extremely sad, but it was better than losing his life, right? But seeing Major General Leighton's tough attitude, he suddenly found his backbone and felt that there was still a glimmer of hope to save the ship and cargo.

"Yes, the general is right, these pirates may not be able to defeat us in a real battle." The fat captain mumbled and began to calculate: "There are more than fifty people on our ship, and they are all good men. This pirate ship is not big, so it may not have as many people as us."

"That's right!" The fat captain made up his mind and said loudly: "If we fight, we will definitely win."

"Then fuck him!" Major General Leighton slapped the side of the ship hard.

"Don't be impatient!" Several passengers didn't know how they got involved in the battle with the pirates: "What if the other party directly sinks us? They have artillery."

"No, what the pirates want is money. If they sink the Skua, there will be no money." The fat captain changed his mind from a capitulationist to a warring faction: "And we also have cannons, just in the cabin."

"If you have a cannon, why don't you put it on the deck and put it in the cabin?" Major Moritz, who had been silent, pointed at the fat captain's nose and asked.

"The Skua has a shallow draft, a tall ship, and an unstable center of gravity. I'm afraid of capsizing the ship when the guns are placed on the deck." The fat captain licked his lips: "There are four six-pound guns on the ship, as well as several rotating cannons."

"Everyone move up here!"

"General! Please wait..." An elegant and well-dressed middle-aged passenger stood up: "You must understand that you are going to risk your officer's life to protect the property of the owner of this ship. !”

"I am protecting the honor of the Veneta Army!" Major General Leighton refuted sharply.

"This has nothing to do with honor!"

"Honor is the life of a soldier! If my officer can even give up honor in order to survive, then he is not worthy of being an officer! You say I don't cherish the lives of my subordinates? I was the first to join the gang after a while!" Leighton! The Major General's words silenced everyone on the deck.

"It's not safe to surrender." The fat captain who was the first to come to his senses hurriedly helped: "The pirates will rob you of all the money you have, and then hold you for ransom. If you fail to pay the ransom, you will be sold to the tower. Slaves on the plantations of Niria.”

The middle-aged passenger, who obviously had some social status, stopped talking. I don't know if he was intimidated by the major general's momentum, or was frightened by the fat captain's words that were difficult to distinguish between true and false.

"Stop talking nonsense! Prepare weapons!" The major general punched the stern mast of the ship.

He walked to the stern of the ship, looked directly into the eyes of the warrant officers standing on the deck, and said bitterly: "The ship behind is a pirate ship, and it's here to find us. Some people think that you are all useless and can't defeat pirates. It's better to surrender. Which coward wants to surrender? Come forward and I'll give you a boat to surrender!"

He glanced around, and the warrant officers were motionless: "Very good, Veneta man, how can you surrender to the pirates? You are officers trained by the Army with a lot of money. It's time to see what you are! Are you a coward or a coward?" Hero, you'll find out today when you try it! How dare a bunch of (expletive) bastards come to trouble us? Go and get weapons! Follow me and kill these bastards!"

The warrant officers were so excited that the major general screamed, and Winters felt as if a fire was burning in his chest. He jumped off the stern and went straight to the cabin to get his sword.

Major Moritz said to the fat captain in a bad tone: "You are lucky. Today's battle seems inevitable. It is indeed unreasonable for the dignified army to surrender to the pirates. But we may be able to formulate a reasonable plan..."

Winters jumped off the stern of the two-story ship and went straight to the cabin to find his luggage. His long sword was with the luggage. Although his long sword was the unedged sword used in swordsmanship classes, it was the only weapon he could think of in his haste.

But after he actually got the sword, he realized that the weapon seemed not suitable for use on a ship. The long sword is too long. If it wants to be wielded without any hindrance, the height of the surrounding space must be at least three and a half meters.

If it is used in a narrow and low space like a ship's cabin, it is easy to hit the cabin roof or bulkhead. It's also not easy to use on the deck because there are cables all over the deck and it's easier to get caught.

However, Winters had no other usable weapons at hand, so he still brought a long sword. After all, it was better than nothing.

Winters suddenly remembered that the female thief's dagger was still there, so he hurriedly searched for it. Ike carefully wrapped his shoulder bag in the duffel bag, and he quickly found the dagger.

Because this dagger was once used as a casting material for the light spell, its surface changed from an ordinary metallic color to a red and black color. Winters tried it and it was still sharp, so he put the dagger on his belt for later use.

Bud also walked into the cabin to get the long sword. He saw Winters putting the dagger into his belt and quickly stopped him: "Don't even think about joining the gang when you look like this. I just took a needle to sew my arm." , didn’t it collapse again when I tried hard?”

"If it breaks open, sew it up again!" How could Winters let his classmates and comrades fight while he acted as the wounded behind?

After fighting against a female thief, he knew that actual combat was dangerous and could really kill people, but he was even more unwilling to be a coward.

"You go help the guys in the artillery section with the artillery. You're not the only one left to fight in hand-to-hand combat." Bud said decisively.

Winters acted as if he didn't hear anything and walked straight out of the lower stern where a few of their wounded casters were resting. As soon as I got out, I saw the first mate and a sailor carrying a barrel filled with swords onto the deck and distributing them one by one to the people on the ship.

Winters also quickly changed into a one-handed scimitar. This scimitar has a wider blade, shorter length, forward center of gravity, and a large tandem.

Winters often saw sailors carrying such knives. After comparing it in his hand, he immediately understood why sailors loved to use this weapon.

The shorter length makes it easier to use on narrow boats and is less likely to get caught on the hull or cables. With a wider blade and a forward center of gravity, the cutting power is greater. Sailors don't wear armor, so they are more effective at slashing.

"A few more people, help move the cannon! Come here!" As soon as he put on a more useful scimitar, Winters heard a cry for help coming from the cabin, and he immediately went to help.

When Winters climbed up the ladder to the bottom cabin, several trainee officers from the artillery section were using all their strength to move an iron cannon.

The artillery on the ship is a short-barreled gun, with a small caliber but a very thick bore wall. It is also covered with iron hoops, making it extremely heavy. The cabin was small and full of cargo, so the warrant officers had nowhere to exert force.

Winters looked at it and thought that he needed to unload the goods first to make it easier to move, but it was obviously unrealistic to unload the goods now. So Winters could only go over and lend a hand, and the artillery could still only move out inch by inch.

Major Moritz also went down to the bottom cabin and saw the trainee officers moving the artillery. He felt that he was about to cry because of these young people: "Don't move these shabby six-pound cannons. Can they be moved? Is it too late?" ?Isn’t there a rotary cannon? Where is it?”

Seeing the rotary cannon equipped on the Skua, Major Moritz's eyes lit up: "Should we be careful about the breech-loaded cannon? Good! It's good for dealing with pirates."

"Where are the blunderbuss? Find all the blunderbuss first." The major began to rummage around in the cabin on the bottom of the ship, and finally found the blunderbuss of the rotary cannon in several wooden boxes: "Go and get some people to charge the blunderbuss first." , it’s enough to lift one of the rotary cannon bodies.”

The breech-mounted rotary cannon on the Skua is known as the Folang machine and the mother-and-son gun in the Silk Country. Gunpowder and shells are packed into a sub-gun, which is stuffed into the rear compartment of the main gun and ignited when used. The combustion process mainly occurs inside the gun, and the main body of the artillery acts as a barrel.

The advantage is that you can prepare many muskets in advance and replace each one after shooting. No need to pretend to fire one round at a time, the firing rate is very fast.

The disadvantage is that limited by the level of craftsmanship, there is serious air leakage at the joint between the gun and the gun body. Therefore, the power of the artillery is very low and cannot shoot far at all. However, it is perfectly fine to use it in close-range boarding battles.

Winters and several artillery warrant officers heard this and left the six-pounder alone, then turned around to lift the swivel gun.

"Don't just lift the cannon, go and charge the muskets, and hold all the muskets." Major Moritz was angry and angry when he saw these young men moving the cannon first and then the rotary cannon. Funny: "Relax, it's just a few dozen pirates, there will be more scenes bigger than this in the future."

Winters was surrounded by the regiment commanded by the major. He and another artillery warrant officer climbed to the lower deck holding a dozen rotating gun canisters.

At this time, the lower deck was already in chaos. Warrant officers and sailors were running back and forth. Everyone didn't know what they were doing, but everyone was busy.

Winters stopped the first mate who was holding a matchlock in one hand and asked the first mate to lead two men to get gunpowder and lead.

The Fat Captain is a very stingy guy, a guy who only gets in but never gets out. He treasures everything.

Cannons, swivel guns, matchlocks, swords, gunpowder, he had everything that an armed merchant ship should have. But he locked them up and kept them carefully on the ship but never took them out for sailors to practice, for fear of being damaged by rude sailors.

In the eyes of the fat captain, the most important thing is to prevent the ship and all the property on the ship from depreciating and devaluing.

But when the first mate broke the lock and opened the captain's "treasured" gunpowder barrel, Winters was dumbfounded. He only knew how to use a matchlock gun, but he had never learned how to handle a cannon.

"How...how to charge this?" Winters held several rotating cannons in his hand and didn't know what to do.

"It's like loading a musket!" the artillery warrant officer said in a reproachful tone, working without looking back.

"I mean how much gunpowder should be loaded? How much gunpowder should be loaded? Where are the cannonballs?" If the gunpowder is loaded too little, it will not be powerful enough. If it is loaded too much, the gunner will be killed first.

"It's too late to find cannonballs, so just load them with lead and use them as cannonballs. The amount of lead you put is the same amount of gunpowder."

"Are you talking about volume or weight?"

"Okay, go find the matchlock!" the artillery warrant officer angrily snatched the blunderbuss from Winters' hand and drove Winters away.